The mysterious woman had nearly escaped with the elevator before Nida could get in. "Oh!" she exclaimed when she noticed him again. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize you were going up too."
Nida shrugged. "It's okay." The elevator automatically began to rise towards the 2F, where Nida's classroom was located. "...So do you know the Headmaster?" he asked, feeling a bit awkward.
She frowned at him, as if she had already forgotten his presence. "Hm? Oh, yes. From a very long time ago."
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open to the 2F's hall.
"Well, goodbye again," she said, with a friendly smile.
Nida nodded. "Yeah. Nice to meet you." It was only after he had stepped out of the car and the elevator had begun to rise again that he realized that this marked the second time she had failed to give him her name. And he had failed to ask.
He shrugged. Well, it really wasn't any of his business anyway. He'd probably never see her again.
He arrived in the classroom just before the final chime rang. His instructor, who had been standing outside the door with an expression that almost dared him to break into a flat run and see what happened, stepped through the door the very instant the chimes ended.
"Good morning," he said, walking over to his desk at the front of the room. "Well, I know there's only one reason you came to class this morning, so let me get right to the point. Yes, the field examination for SeeD candidates will take place today; and no, I will not be one of the instructors in charge."
A murmur arose from the class, but it was quickly hushed. For his part, Nida suddenly became very aware of his heartbeat.
"There will, of course, therefore be no regular class today," he went on. "Those of you who passed last week's written exam have free time until the test begins; meet in the main hall at 16:00. Those of you not participating in the exam or who failed the written test, will remain here for study hall. And please remember that 'study' does not involve online games or posting on the 'Garden Square'. Are there any questions?"
One student raised her hand. "Instructor Aki?"
He nodded. "Yes?"
"Will Squall be able to participate in the exam?"
Nida sighed.
"Hey, yeah!" broke in another student. Nida didn't need more than a second to identify Zell Dincht's voice. Even after a year, his classroom outbursts were so reliable you could almost set a clock by them. "Like, so Seifer beat him up pretty bad, right? What's his punishment gonna be?"
"You'll have to ask Instructor Trepe," Aki replied, with a cold look in Zell's direction. "But I will remind you that any gossip can wait until after study hall." He folded his arms. "Those participating in the field exam are dismissed. And Mr. Dincht…students should not speak in class until called upon. You may remain until third bell, and reflect on the importance of classroom decorum."
Zell slumped onto his desk. Nida and three other students stood and quietly filed out of the classroom, while everyone who wasn't taking the SeeD exam stayed behind and started murmuring to each other. It was not until he was out in the hallway that Nida realized that he hadn't changed into his uniform, but Instructor Aki hadn't even seemed to notice.
A few more students were leaving from Instructor Trepe's classroom down the hall. For a second, Nida spotted someone else who wasn't wearing the Garden uniform's navy blue; Seifer Almasy and his gray trenchcoat quickly disappeared in the direction of the elevator.
Shaking his head at himself, Nida turned to one of the students who had just left class with him. "What's going on with Squall?"
The other student frowned at him. "What, you didn't hear? He and Seifer got in this big fight, and Squall got knocked out. He was still in the infirmary last I heard; he probably won't be able to take the field exam."
Nida raised his eyebrows. "Wow."
"I know. I mean, he's the one guy I was sure was gonna pass. But then, I've said that about Seifer two years in a row, now..." He shrugged. "Wait, are you taking the exam, too? I didn't realize."
Nida wasn't really sure how to respond to that.
The other student shrugged. "Ah, well, I guess it doesn't matter. Good luck to the two of us anyway, right?"
"Right." Nida nodded and headed for the elevator.
As he stepped into the intersection to the elevator-hall, however, he barely had time to jump out of the way as a girl in a student's uniform bore down on him. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm LATE!" she said as she streaked past, towards Instructor Trepe's room. "Sorry!"
Nida shrugged, and kept walking towards the elevator.
Upon reaching the 1F hall, he decided to head for the cafeteria. Since he'd overslept and had the rest of the morning free, now seemed like a good time to get some breakfast.
A fair number of students who had a free period had apparently had the same idea, and there was a fair number of people in the cafeteria. Standing by the door, however, were three who looked even more out of place than the girl he had met by the entrance, even though they were around Garden all the time. None of them was in uniform. Fujin was small but imposing, with silver hair and a patch over her left eye, while Raijin was tall, with dark skin and a purple vest that didn't hide much of it. And there was Seifer, the tallest of the three with well-tended golden hair and a grumpy scowl.
Garden's disciplinary committee. Nida paused when he saw them, wondering just how hungry he really was.
"SEIFER, DRINK?" asked Fujin.
Seifer didn't reply.
"Can I drink somethin'?" put in Raijin. "I'd like some water, ya know."
Fujin glared at him. "...IGNORE."
"..." Seifer seemed to think this was good advice.
Nida wondered what they would do if he went in front of them, but it seemed like they wouldn't get around to ordering for a while, so he headed for the counter, looking as inconspicuous as possible.
"Hey, so how about Squall, ya know?" asked Raijin as Nida approached. "Who'd have seen that coming, right?"
Seifer grimaced.
"QUIET," warned Fujin.
"Yeah, okay; don't wanna bring up a touchy subject, ya know? So how about that food, Fujin? Your treat, right?"
"RAGE!" Fujin kicked him in the shin.
"Ahh!" exclaimed Raijin, clutching his foot. "Ouuu...Ahh..."
Nida tried to be even sneakier. But even as he was almost at the counter, he perceived that someone was bearing down quickly behind him. He ducked out of the way just in time to let a blue streak of a student zip past him towards the counter. That's the second time today...
The student — Zell, Nida realized — skidded to a halt in front of the counter. "D-Do you have any..." the student panted, "...hot dogs left?"
The cafeteria lady shook her head. "You're a bit late, I'm afraid. We're all sold out!"
"Damn!" he exclaimed. "Not again! It's hopeless if you don't get here early..." He shook his head. "Alright, I'll try again next time..." With a dejected look at the floor, he turned and shuffled away.
"I'll try to order more," the cafeteria lady called after him, "but there's no guarantee!"
Nida, Seifer, Fujin and Raijin watched him go. "...Speeding," said Seifer eventually. His voice was disconcertingly toneless. "Let's go arrest that student for violation of academy regulations."
"AFFIRMATIVE," agreed Fujin.
"Roger, ya know!" said Raijin; and all three of them set off in pursuit. Nida raised his eyebrows, shrugged, and headed for the counter.
"So what do you guys have?" he asked.
"Well, you're too late for all the first-day food. But we do have some leftover pizza from last Friday that's down to only one gil a slice."
For a brief instant, Nida actually considered taking it. "...No thanks," he said regardless. "I'll just come back for lunch."
"Suit yourself." She was looking wistfully towards the entrance. "I must say, being young is so great," she said. "It's like this burst of energy flowing within you constantly, and..."
Nida began to walk away.
"Although you can sure get yourselves into trouble sometimes. Like that kid who was just in here — Seifer. I heard he knocked out one of his classmates training. That's the sort of thing that makes me worry, you know? Especially for that poor boy who can't take the field exam now; it's just awful to have one's hopes dashed at the last minute like that. I have a son who's about your age, but he's so incompetent and..."
Her voice died away as Nida escaped into the hallway. It was a little funny, he thought, how the whole Garden had become obsessed with Squall's training accident; though there was a question nagging at the back of his mind, of whether, if he were the one who had been landed in the infirmary, anyone would even notice.
With that thought, he headed for the library.